In the midst of last year’s lockdowns and restrictions one great thing that happened in Leicester was the opening of Orton’s Brasserie.
If you managed to squeeze in a visit when they opened then you’ll be only too well aware how delicious the food and cocktails are and what a great addition it’s been to the Cultural Quarter.
In this week’s BID Spotlight we caught up with owner, Guy Kersey, and also Chef Andy to grab one of the signature recipes so you can create a taste or Orton’s at home.
Whilst Orton’s won’t be re-opening straight away in April, Guy is certainly looking forward to opening the doors as soon as they can, “I’m most looking forward to seeing happy customers enjoying the Orton’s experience. We have never been open without restriction so it would be good to show what the full Orton’s experience is”.
The Orton’s menu features British classics done to a very high standard, Guy added, “What’s great about chef Andy’s menu is there is something for whatever mood you are in, and that is exactly what the Orton’s experience is all about.”
One of the highlights is definitely Chef Andy’s chicken, and now you can have a go at recreating it at home with the following recipe.
Chef Andy’s chicken breast with tarragon mash, mushroom, pea and sweetcorn fricassee, and chicken jus
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts, skin on or off
Skin from two extra breasts for extra crispy skin
500ml brown chicken stock
3 large mashing potatoes
300ml double cream
100g butter
2 sprigs tarragon
2 sprigs thyme
1 clove garlic
1 whole corn on the cob, frozen, or tinned
500g mixed wild mushrooms
100g frozen peas
1 banana shallot
6 spears of asparagus
Pea-shoots
Mash
Place potatoes on top of a small handful of table salt on a baking tray to help draw out moisture.
Place potatoes in the oven at 200-degrees for 45-60 mins.
In the meantime, add 300ml double cream, 50g butter, 1 sprig tarragon, and 1 tsp of salt to a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce by half. Discard the tarragon after.
When potatoes are cooked, cut in half, scoop out middle, mash, then fold in the cream until mash is glossy.
Place a cartouche on top and save for plating up.
Fricassee
Prep your mushrooms – we keep ours chunky for texture. Keep any leftover trim to add to your sauce later.
Defrost 100g frozen peas.
Cook 100g frozen/tinned corn. If using fresh corn, blanch by bringing a pan of salted water to the boil and cook for 6-7 mins – it should become tender and a bright yellow colour. Continue the blanching process by placing corn into ice water to cool down quickly. Once cooled, cut the corn down the four sides, and keep.
At the same time, blanch off 6 spears of asparagus for 60-90 seconds.
Chicken sauce
Thinly slice your shallot and fry until golden. Add in mushroom trim from earlier, a sprig of thyme, and cook until golden.
Pour in chicken stock and reduce by half. Discard the pulp and keep the sauce. This may need a little more reducing for a thicker consistency.
Chicken Breast
Keep or remove the skin depending on preference. We keep ours on in a hot pan skin-side down being careful as chicken likes to spit.
If not using skin, place it down on the same side the skin would have been.
Once golden, turnover and turn the heat down by half.
Add 25g butter until golden. Then add a sprig of thyme and clove of garlic to spoon over the chicken for a minute or two.
Place chicken on a tray and pour butter over the breasts.
Crispy chicken skin – optional
You can use extra chicken skin or use the skin from the breast separately.
Take two sheets of greaseproof paper and flatten the skin between the sheets.
Place in-between two trays and bake at 180 degrees for 10-12mins.
Season when cooked.
Bringing together
Cook the chicken in the oven at 180-degrees for 8-10 mins. Make sure it’s cooked by inserting a poultry thermometer into the thickest part of the breast, which should read at 70 degrees. Leave to rest for 3-5 mins – it will continue to cook and will relax just like a steak.
Whilst chicken is in the oven, heat your mash. You may need to add a tiny splash of milk to stop it from splitting. We use a piping bag to the plate it up, but a nice spoon will do the job.
Once hot, fry mushrooms in a frying pan until golden. Add sweetcorn and fry for another minute. Add the last 25g butter, peas, and asparagus.
Season how you like. We like to add a small tsp of chopped tarragon to finish.
Building the dish
While the chicken rests, pipe or spoon mash into 3 piles on the plate at 10 o’clock, 2 o’clock, and 6 o’clock.
Place fricassee of veg into the middle.
Slice chicken breast in half lengthways cutting through the skin and arrange on top of your fricassee.
Add optional chicken skin to top the fricassee and drape asparagus over.
Make sure sauce is hot and drizzle over dish to finish.
You can also add pea-shoots as pictured.
Are you going to give it a go? Share your pictures with us @coolasleicester.
Keep up to date with Orton’s Brasserie’s re-opening plans by following them on Facebook.
Our BID Spotlight features are brought to you in collaboration with BID Leicester.
